10:02 am, May 1, 2020
WMS Group managing director and founding partner John Colinswood has announced his retirement after a lifetime of working in the automotive industry.
Most of his career was spent in the warranties sector, which led to him co-establishing the WMS Group as Warranty Management Services in 2003.
Since then, WMS Group has grown to become one of the leaders in its field, winning the Warranty Provider category at Car Dealer Power every year since 2015. It was sold to Opteven earlier this year.
Colinswood said: ‘I feel proud and privileged to have founded WMS Group, and it has been very rewarding to work with such great people within the business.
‘Part of the reason I decided to sell WMS Group to Opteven was to ensure the future of WMS, and its people, was in safe hands. I am glad to say that Opteven have proven to be great partners.’
He added: ‘It was my intention, and that of Opteven’s, to stay with the business long term. Over recent weeks, however, due to the coronavirus shutdown, I have been able to take time to reflect on my future plans.
‘I have therefore taken the very hard decision to finally “retire” so that I can fully focus on my wife and family, and on my religious and charitable pursuits.’
WMS Group chief executive Martin Quail said: ‘I want to echo John’s comments and thank him for his contribution to the business.
‘Opteven were immediately attracted to WMS Group because of its great reputation in the industry and to John’s unwavering sense of professionalism and integrity.
‘John has demonstrated great innovation and leadership as he developed this great business into the market leader and award winner that it is today.
‘We were therefore delighted that John agreed to stay with the business long term, after the acquisition, to help us to grow this great business even more. We were hugely grateful that we could rely on John’s great insight and industry knowledge.
‘We are very sad that John has decided to resign from his position. We hoped that he would stay with us much longer. However, we fully respect and understand his reasons.
‘It’s been a great pleasure to work with John over the last 16 months pre- and post-acquisition. We will miss him and his boundless energy.
‘Opteven remains fully committed to investing in the continued growth of WMS Group and supporting all of its fantastic colleagues.’
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